Project description:Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a damage to the spinal cord induced by trauma or disease resulting in a loss of mobility or feeling. SCI is characterized by a primary mechanical injury followed by a secondary injury in which several molecular events are altered in the spinal cord often resulting in loss of neuronal function. Analysis of the areas directly (spinal cord) and indirectly (raphe and sensorimotor cortex) affected by injury will help understanding mechanisms of SCI. Hypothesis: Areas of the brain primarily affected by spinal cord injury are the Raphe and the Sensorimotor cortex thus gene expression profiling these two areas might contribute understanding the mechanisms of spinal cord injury. Specific Aim: The project aims at finding significantly altered genes in the Raphe and Sensorimotor cortex following an induced moderate spinal cord injury in T9.
Project description:Purpose: Nerve injury-induced hyperactivity of primary sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) contributes critically to chronic pain development, but its underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Chronic neuropathic pain has a clear epigenetic component, however, most studies so far have focused on histone modifications. We determined changes of DNA methylation in the rat DRG, spinal cord, and prefrontal cortex after spinal nerve ligation (SNL).
Project description:Purpose: Nerve injury-induced hyperactivity of primary sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) contributes critically to chronic pain development, but its underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Chronic neuropathic pain has a clear epigenetic component, however, most studies so far have focused on histone modifications. We determined changes of DNA methylation in the rat DRG, spinal cord, and prefrontal cortex after spinal nerve ligation (SNL).
